I started photographing Oakland, California, toward the end of 2001. I wanted to show a little of the feeling I got from the buildings, store windows, old neighborhoods, that are seen here as a sort of stage set for the people that live and work there. Oakland once thought of herself as a little grander than her sister San Francisco. The weather was a little nicer, the streets a little bit wider. Then, after World War II, everybody started moving out. Now she is trying to re-invent herself. There are some new structures in these photos, but they live among the ghosts from times gone by.